Have you ever thought, how to make the best use of the recent college graduate who has joined your team? Remember, they are just not hired to satisfy a company’s operating principles, but are hired for a solid purpose for themselves too! And you being their first ever boss; hold a lot of importance in shaping their future career.
Fresh graduates are essentially a generation away! Often they are direction-less, they are even clue-less about what they want to learn! For many of them they start discovering their own potential when they are being put into challenging work situations. On the other side, they might be hyper-motivated, overtly-smart, and in a hurry to do everything in a short span of time! …..in simple language – Tough to handle!
So how to make this a win-win situation for both! Gathered from a lot of real-life experiences are some of the Do’s and Don’t’ s which help in creating a mutually beneficial relationship with a fresh graduate and in dealing with their fast-paced nature.
Firstly, Switch off their “Ease” button right from Day Zero. Let them know – that it’s a serious business and everyone in the office means dollars! Don’t let them feel that they are on a summer break from college. Let them start missing the leisure time they had in college. This will activate their brains and put them in attention!
Have a clear set of goals and objectives about “What you expect out of them”? At the end of the internship – What results should they be leaving for your organization and What learning’s and experiences should they be carrying with them? Otherwise…You end up loosing their interest in the internship very soon. And do not forget to “Communicate this to the Intern”.
Make them feel they are an integral part of your team, by sharing with them the quarterly plans and business results to be achieved. Let them know how their contribution will help in achieving those results.
Discuss with them, their career path and ask them what they expect form the internship. This will establish a feeling of concern and friendliness on a serious note.
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Be a ruthless task-master and make sure you deluge their mailbox with a set of To-Do’s every morning! This will help you in catching up with their fast-paced nature and help grab their attention to work. Do not forget to ask for Tea and Lunch breaks with them, however not on a “Daily” basis. Only when you are sure, they wont be able to take that much-needed break with you.Do check back on the To-Do's at the end of the day, so that they know you are serious about your task-mails!
Always make sure that the “Intern is BUSIER than You” ….I wont tell you why, it will be big fun when you experience it live!
Do not ever hesitate to transfer the ownership of small work modules to the Intern, this will make them feel highly responsible for the business outcomes, and you will see a positive surge in their productivity.
Be kind, nice and well spoken, but NOT friendly! Believe me, it’s a smarter generation and very soon, they might start taking you for granted. So avoid taking too many coffee of smoking hangouts with the intern.
Help them when they are in trouble, urge them to ask questions, talk to people around and find solutions to problems. Do not leave them alone in the swimming pool.
Atlast, do not forget to acknowledge them publicly for good efforts and good results delivered. This will make them Doubly motivated to perform and outperform themselves everytime.
And then, Have a party with them…..
Enjoy…
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